The Cigar Maker Wins Bronze Medal

The 2011 Independent Publisher Book Award winners were announced today and Seventh Avenue Productions is proud that The Cigar Maker by Mark Carlos McGinty won the Bronze Medal in the historical fiction category.

The Cigar Maker is the story of a Cuban cigar maker who battles labor strife and vigilante violence in 1900’s Tampa Florida. It is based on true events. This is the fifth award for The Cigar Maker.

The complete list of winners can be found on the Independent Publisher official site.

The “IPPY” Awards, launched in 1996, are designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers. Established as the first awards program open exclusively to independents, over 2,500 “IPPYs” have been awarded to authors and publishers around the world. The Awards recognize 12 Outstanding Books of the Year in categories such as Most Inspirational to Youth and Most Likely To Save the Planet, and to gold, silver and gold medal winners in 69 categories, ranging from non-fiction categories like Architecture and Religion, to fiction categories like Multicultural and Horror.

2010 Book of the Year Award Finalists Announced

ForeWord Reviews is pleased to announce the 2010 Book of the Year Awards list of finalists. Representing more than 350 publishers, the finalists were selected from 1400 entries in 56 categories. These books are examples of independent publishing at its finest.

The Cigar Maker by Mark McGinty is a finalist for the 2010 Book of the Year Awards in the Historical Fiction category. Based on true events, The Cigar Maker is the story of a Cuban cigar maker who battles labor strife and vigilante violence in 1900’s Ybor City, Florida. Mark McGinty is the author of two novels. His work has appeared in Maybourne Magazine, Cigar City Magazine and La Gaceta.

Published by Seventh Avenue Productions, this is the 4th award for The Cigar Maker. The book has also won the following:

• Honorable Mention – London Book Festival 2010
• Honorable Mention – New England Book Festival 2010
• Honorable Mention – DIY Convention 2010

ForeWord Reviews’ Book of the Year Awards program was established to help publishers shine an additional spotlight on their best titles and bring increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. Award winners are chosen from real librarians and booksellers, who are on the front lines everyday working with patrons and customers. ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.

More About ForeWord Reviews

Since 1998, ForeWord Reviews has been one of the publishing industry’s most respected print magazine and online review service for readers, booksellers, book buyers, publishing insiders, and librarians. ForeWord is published six times a year and each issue reaches an audience of 26,000 librarians and booksellers. As a review service for small and independent publishers, ForeWord influences the buying decisions of booksellers and librarians across the United States and Canada. In addition to the magazine, ForeWord’s website receives nearly 10,000 unique visitors a month. ForeWord Reviews employs professional freelance reviewers from all over the United States and Canada.

The Cigar Maker is available on Kindle or from the official website.

The Cigar Maker Wins Honorable Mention at DIY Convention

Seventh Avenue Productions is proud to announce that The Cigar Maker by Mark Carlos McGinty has won Honorable Mention in the General Fiction category at the DIY Convention. The DIY Convention honors independent and self-published works of merit. This awards marks the third award for McGinty’s second novel. The Cigar Maker also won Honorable Mention for General Fiction at both the London Book Festival and the New England Book Festival in 2010.

The Cigar Maker is the story of a Cuban cigar maker who battles labor strife and vigilante violence in 1900’s Tampa, Florida. It is based on true events.

The Cigar Maker now available for download

The Cigar Maker is now available from Smashwords for $3.99….You can download it to your computer in just seconds. Cool, huh? You can read it online, or download it to your Sony Reader or Palm devise.

Smashwords is a great place for people who are curious about ebooks, but not ready or willing to fork over the cash for a Kindle. You can sample books for free and read the first 30 or 40 pages. You don’t pay unless you decide to continue. Check it out right here, right now!

Click to download The Cigar Maker!

Going to Cuba? Maybe!

When I learned that an artist and writers delegation would be traveling to Havana’s International Book Fair in Havana, Cuba in 2011 my first thought was there’s no way I’d get approved for something like that. Although this is a legal U.S. government approved trip from the United States to Cuba, I have heard it is almost impossible to get approved for these delegations. You pretty much have to be a fulltime professor, member of the clergy, college student, established filmmaker or politician. There’s no way they’d allow little old me, an independent author with just two novels and a handful of magazine/newspaper publications, to visit evil communist Cuba. Even though I am half-Cuban, and my great-grandparents were from the island, my lineage is too far removed to be considered a true family member of any distant relatives I might be able to locate in Cuba. I’ve heard it is very easy to get there illegally, and there are organizations you can join that directly challenge the travel ban, but with a family to feed, I can’t risk a $250,000 fine and 10 years in the pen.

This means I either try for the International Book Fair or I wait until the travel ban is lifted and join hoards of American tourists in a mass exodus to paradise. Waiting until the Castro brothers are dead and joining a mob of tourists doesn’t sound too appealing. Even though the House Agricultural Committee recently voted 25-20 to lift the travel ban, it will be a long time before a plane full of American tourists lands in Havana.

Photo courtesy of Lehman College

I figured I’d  give the Book Festival a legitimate shot. The trip is being organized by Anya Achtenberg of the Minnesota Cuba Committee. The first thing I had to do was put together a writer’s resume. My wife Lupi, a cartoonist, began putting together her own artist’s resume. A list of publications, shows we’ve participated in, awards we’ve won, committees or organizations where we’re members. I wrote a novel about Cuban cigar makers for crying out loud – that has to count for something! Then we each wrote a cover letter describing our purpose for going to Cuba, what we planned to do while we were there, and who would benefit from our experiences.

We basically have to meet one of the following 3 requirements:

• Full-time professionals, whose travel transactions are directly related to research in their professional areas, provided that their research: 1) is of a noncommercial, academic nature; 2) comprises a full work schedule in Cuba; and 3) has a substantial likelihood of public dissemination.
• Free-Lance Journalism – Persons with a suitable record of publication who are traveling to Cuba to do research for a free-lance article. Licenses authorizing transactions for multiple trips over an extended period of time are available for applicants demonstrating a significant record of free-lance journalism.
• Professional Research and Professional Meetings – Persons traveling to Cuba to do professional research or to attend a professional meeting that does not meet the requirements of the relevant general license (described above).

We fired these off and have been told that we have a 99.9% chance of getting approved. I’ll take those odds but am still nervous. Even if we’re approved by Uncle Sam, there is still no guarantee that we’ll be able to handle the finances and logistics involved with such a trip. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Cuba, a communist country that most Americans are banned from visiting. A chance to visit the island while Fidel and Raul Castro are still in power. A chance to see the land of my ancestors, to experience the Cuban culture, to meet the Cuban people, to learn their language and customs. To see how they live. To see, firsthand, why the United States government thinks it’s a bad idea for Americans to visit Cuba.

What kind of souvenirs will we bring back? Apparently the Feds will seizes our cigars and rum but there is no limit on books, CDs, photographs, artwork and other “informational materials.” See the details from Feds.com:

What Can Be Brought Back
If U.S. travelers return from Cuba with goods of Cuban origin, such goods, with the exception of informational materials, may be seized at Customs’ discretion [Section 515.204 of the Regulations]. Cuban cigars and rum are routinely confiscated at U.S. ports of entry. Purchasing Cuban cigars and rum in a “duty-free” shop at the Havana Airport does not exempt them from seizure by U.S. Customs. There are no limits on the import or export of informational materials [Section 515.206 of the Regulations]. Information and informational materials such as books, films, artworks, posters, photographs, tapes and CDs are statutorily exempt from regulation under the embargo and may be transported freely; however, blank tapes and CDs are not considered informational materials and may be seized.  To be considered informational material, artworks must be classified under Chapter subheading 9701, 9702, or 9703 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (for example, original paintings, drawings, pastels, engravings, prints, and sculptures are all exempt.)

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for what will certainly be the trip of a lifetime!

Click for more information on traveling to Cuba from the U.S.

 

First sentence of my next novel “Unit 731”

So I’ve been putting together a few story threads for my next novel, and doing some initial research. After knocking a few opening scenes around in my head, I finally decided on where the story should start. I still need to decide on the character’s name but I was able to write the first sentence of the story.

First, a little about the book, Unit 731. I’m trying to condense my log line into a single sentence. Here’s what I have:

In the final days of World War II, a Japanese doctor attempts to flee Japan with a state secret and is pursued by an Imperial police officer through Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Here’s the opening line (I haven’t decided on the main character’s name yet)

<Name> was given a cyanide capsule and instructed to take the secret to his grave.

Still have a few more sentences to write so don’t expect Unit 731 to be in print until around oh, summer of 2012?? If you need some reading before then, be sure to check out The Cigar Maker!

5 Star Review from Midwest Book Review

It’s nice to get these, even when they’re short. Usually I provide a link to the reviews for The Cigar Maker but in this case I can post the whole thing…

***** A fine read, highly recommended

From one tumultuous home to another. “The Cigar Maker” tells the story of Salvador Ortiz as he leaves Cuba at the end of the nineteenth century to find a better life in America. But he finds that the streets of Tampa are just as shady as the streets of Cuba, and finds that keeping his family together and strong will be a struggle no matter where he is, as he faces off with the clashes of culture and history surrounding him. “The Cigar Maker” is a fine read, highly recommended.

Aside from that nice little nugget, here are my upcoming events…

July 12 – Interview on DogWatch Cigar Radio @ 6:00pm CST…this will be a podcast so you’ll be able to check it out after the 12th.

July 20 – Interview on The Author’s Show.

July 31 – Book signing and chat and Mayday Books in Minneapolis, MN, 3:00pm. Sponsored by the Minnesota Cuba Committee, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the bookstore, which is a non-profit organization.

If you are in the Tampa area check out the July 2nd issue of La Gaceta and Cigar City Magazine (also available online), where excerpts of The Cigar Maker have been recently published!

In addition to the above, you can hear recent interviews on Blog Talk Radio and The Cigar Authority.

There is also a Cigar Maker giveaway on GoodReads, where you can enter to win a free copy!

How to be Interviewed on the Radio

5 Simple Tips for Sounding Great on the Radio

Having done several radio interviews to promote my second novel The Cigar Maker I thought I would share some things I have learned about being a great interviewee on the radio. Here are five easy tricks to sounding great on the radio and conducting a great interview.

1. Be Prepared

You need to be quick with your words and be ready to talk. Write down a list of talking points and have them in front of you during the interview. The host will probably start by introducing you and giving you a chance to talk about your product. Have a 20 second pitch written down. I usually have about two pages of typed notes that I refer to during the show.

You need to sound credible and if you’re bumbling with your words the listener will not take you seriously.

2. Know Your Audience

It is very important to understand the show’s audience and to speak to things that will interest that group. Talking to other authors on Blog Talk Radio is much different than speaking to seasoned cigar smokers on The Cigar Authority. For one audience, I talked about the writing process, my characters and my experiences in publishing. For the other audience, I talked about the history of the cigar industry, how the struggles of the early 20th century cigar workers are still relevant today, and my favorite cigars.

The host or producer should be able to provide a demographic breakdown of their listeners, so you can adjust your talking points accordingly.

3. Educate and Entertain

The worst thing you can do when answering questions is to give short answers lacking in substance.  Example. The interviewer will likely ask where you live, or where you are from. Take a look at two possible interviews.

#1 Guest Gives Brief Answer

Host: You live in Minneapolis, right?

You: Correct.

#2 Guest Gives a Little More

Host: You live in Minneapolis, right?

You: I live in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Twins have put together a terrific team and are having a great season in a brand new outdoor ballpark.

Which interview is more interesting?

Since you know your audience, you should be able to provide information that either entertains or educates them. Don’t spend a lot of time talking about yourself, unless you have some interesting anecdotes that relate to your product. Overcome the “so what?” factor and keep giving the listener a reason to take another look at your product.

4. Control Yourself and Your Environment

You do not want to control the interview or the show. Leave that to the host. What you can control is you. Your voice, your environment, your audio posture. Find a quiet room and beware of outside noises like airplanes, lawn mowers, pets and curious children. Sit outside in your car if you must but know that the airwaves can be sensitive and you don’t want a ringing doorbell to distract listeners from your pitch.

Project your voice. Speak a bit louder than you normally do and make sure you sit up straight. Hunching over can muffle and weaken your voice. I actually stand up when I’m being interviewed on the radio, and imagine I’m giving a presentation to an auditorium filled with hundreds of people.

And don’t forget to mention your product! Don’t rely on the host to do this for you. Instead of saying, “my book is about blah blah blah,” the listener who just joined will appreciate it if you say, “my book, The Cigar Maker, is about…”

Do plenty of name dropping – of not only your product but your website.

5. Make a Strategic Follow Up

After the show be sure to follow up and thank the host and/or the producer. But your promotion doesn’t end when you hang up the phone. Offer to provide several free promotional samples of your product. After two of the shows I did, I offered to send 3-5 books that the host could give away to listeners on future shows. If they are giving something of yours away, that means they’ll be talking about it, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. It’s free media and free media that you will not have to manage. Your presence will linger long after the show and the free items will create buzz, which is exactly why you went on the show in the first place!

Mark McGinty is the author of The Cigar Maker and Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy

Two of My Characters – in Comic Book Form!!

Coolest thing ever. Check out Salvador and Juan Carlos at a cock fight during the opening chapter of The Cigar Maker!

This comes from Lupi (be sure you check out her site!) whose latest endeavor is Bantam a comic she created for Lutefisk Sushi which is a silk-screened bento box filled with original mini-comics from Minnesota artists. This summer the 4th edition will be out and it’s always filled with some of the most creative and original artwork and stories you can imagine!

Some Misconceptions About Authors

Okay, let’s clear these up right now.

Authors make a lot of money selling books

Yeah, right. Seriously though, some do. Most don’t. Sarah Palin made millions, more than enough to quit her day job. On the absolute opposite end of the continuum, Joe Schmuckarola, who you’ve never heard of even though he lives right down the street, sold a total of 4 copies of his self-published underwater crime thriller. And he bought one of those copies himself, just to see what it would do to his Amazon ranking (it sent his book from 2,341,556 to 341,457 — but only for about two days, until the ranking promptly fell back into the 2 millions).

So we make money, but our bottom line is a direct result of the amount of intelligent effort we’ve invest in our marketing, the commercial appeal of the work, and the ability to talk about our books in a way that either entertains or educates the public.

Authors are famous, or will be one day

You don’t write a book and get famous, you get famous and then write a book.

Authors worked their tale off to perfect their craft, labored for hours to win the attention of an agent, sent their manuscript in and waited and waited until a giant NY publisher called and wrote them a giant check

Naw, anyone can write a book these days. Really. It’s not that hard. And it’s only going to get easier. Check out Garrison Keillor’s article on The End of an Era in Publishing.

In school, authors received high marks in English, spelling, grammar, etc…

I was terrible in English class, still can’t spell, have awful grammar and a limited vocabulary. I scored much higher on the math portion of the SAT than that other section. My reading comprehension scores were always the lowest of all my standardized test scores. I’m great with numbers, but struggle with words. Ultimately I’m a storyteller. Discuss the nuance of  Jane Eyre? No. Won’t even try.

Authors are backed by a publisher who handles all their publicity and marketing

If this was true I wouldn’t be writing this. Or posting a link to the official website for my newest book, The Cigar Maker.

Thanks for reading, gang! See you next time!